The inaugural Ford & Etal Duck Race takes place on Easter Monday at Heatherslaw when 100 rubber ducks will race a short stretch of the River Till to the finish line near Heatherslaw Bridge.
To join in the fun and enter a duck into the race you must first register at The Lavender Tearooms in Etal, or Ford Village Shop, in advance of the event (from March 4th-March 31st). Here you can select what number duck will represent you in the race and write down your contact details. The fee to enter is just £2 and all proceeds will go to the charity Cash4Kids. We have 100 highly-trained, numbered ducks waiting to be selected.
The race will start at 11:30 sharp on 1st April, so get to Heatherslaw Bridge a little earlier to make sure you don’t miss the fun! There is parking on both sides of the river at Heatherslaw or you can park in Etal and then walk to Heatherslaw on a safe path which takes approximately 15 minutes. Keep an eye open for rabbits and hares in the fields.
There will be prizes for the backers of the ducks in first and second place and, to keep everyone in suspense, there will also be a prize for backers of the last duck past the post.
There will be a running commentary on the day and free gingerbread and apple juice for children courtesy of the Café At The Mill.
No doubt glorious chaos will ensue while all the rubber ducks are caught after the race. Ollie from Active4Seasons will be on the river to ensure none escape.
Unfortunately you cannot bring your own rubber duck along to enter the race. We have permission from The Tweed Commission to hold this event on condition that all the ducks are sanitised before entering the river.
We would like to thank our sponsors: Lavender Tearooms in Etal, Cafe at The Mill, Heatherslaw Light Railway, Handmade at Heatherslaw in Heatherslaw and Ravn Clay Pottery in Ford. Without their generous support we could not hold this event.
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